Pallet rack



W. SCHROEDER y PALLET RACK Ot. s, 1963 l g 16 i;

2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Illllllllllllllll' 23 l [721/8 NTJ Schroeder, @y www@PWM Oct. 8, 1963 w. scHRox-:DER

PALLET RACK 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed NOV. 21, 1960 This invention relatesto the art of support Structures,

` panticularly to a collapsible shelf structure Iadapted for supportingpalletized loads, of a type commonly referred to as a pallet rack. j

'Dhe use of pallets or skids secured as supports for loads of allvarieties of materials has been on the increasein recent years. 'Ilheskid or pallet not only supports the load, but it permits the forks of-a lift truck to be inserted below it in order to allow the palletizedload to be con.

`veniently transported from place to place as required. Due to theincreased use of palletized loads, -a definite need arose for asupporting structure which can support a number of palletized loads in aminimum space at a minimum cost.

Structures for this purpose have been developed. They are generally inthe form of vertical uprightmembers joined together by horizontal sideto side and front to back members which forman open type skeletalstructure. The vertical membersare made long enough to support thehorizontal members at vertically spaced intervals to provide amulti-tiered structure for supporting palletized loads at diierentstacked levels. Also, the ver-tical members lare spaced horizontallyfrom each other by calculated amounts to establish bays of given length.to accommodate a lgiven number of palletizcd loads in a Irow withoutwaste of space on the pallet rack structure. Within reason, thestructures can be made of any length and lany height depending upon theparticular storage spiace available.

It seems that one of the most desirable requirements for a pallet rackstructure is that it should be capable of being assembled anddisassembled conveniently with.- a minimum of time and etont. Itmustalso be rigid when assembled and not subject toaccidentaldisassembly.

Another desirable feature is to have a minimum of parts and, ifpossible, no extra detachable parts which can be misplaced, such. asconnector pins. l

-It is therefore an important object of this invention to provide animproved pallet rack which can be assembled and disassembledconveniently with .a minimum of time i ,to acci-dental disassembly, andwhich has a minimum of parts with no extra detachable parts, such asconnector pins, which can be misplaced.

In order to achieve this objective a pallet rack structure is providedwherein there are only two basic components, `the vertical supports toruprights and horizontal beams which ane connected thereto. There 'arenot other separate detachable parts. The connections between theuprights and the beams are by lugs on sleeves telescoped for slidingmovement within the beams. Ilhe sliding movement of the sleeves .enablesthe lugs to be withdrawn into the beam ends when the beams ends arepositioned between the uprights. sliding movement also enables the lugsto be extended beyond the beam ends .and into openings provided in theuprights where the lugs can be locked into place. With such anarrangement of permitting the lu-gs "onthe beams to be fwithdnawn intothe beams,there are no projections from the ends of the beams whichwould prevent positioning the beams between the uprights. By allowingthe lugs to be extended beyond the ends of the beams 'after the beamsare positioned, this enables the beams to be connected `at the sides ofthe uprights rather than along their front surfaces which is Vthe mostcustomary manner' of connection in prior art devices.

United States Patent William Schroeder, Evanston, Ill., assignor to'Acme Steel Y 3,106,297 j Patented Oct. 8, 1963 ice Another object of theinvenion is to provide a locking y, pin fwhich is integral with thetelescoping sleeve and `which is` mounted on the sleeve along slopedslots for `be apparent upon reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. l shows a perspective view of a partially cutaway pallet nackstructure embodying the features of this invention; Y

XFIG. 2 shows a partially cutaway enlarged sectional view of a portionof the pallet r-ack structure offFIG. il showing the region ofconnection between the end vof a beam and an upright member; f

FIG. 3 shows a pantiallycutaway and sectional elevational view along theline 3 3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows a partially cutaway enlarged perspective View of theportion of the pallet rack structure of FIG. 1 showing the region of aconnection between the end of a beam and an upright member;

FIG. 5 shows `a sectional View along the line 5-5 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 shows a top plan view of the end pontion of a beam.

As viewed in FIG. 1,1a typical support vstructure or pallet rack 1consists of a pair of ladder-shaped upright frames 2 and 3` spaced apartfrom each `other and joined together by means of horizontal beams 4, 5,`6 and 7. These beams are joined at their ends to the upright frames 2and 3 in a manner hereinafter described. The upright frame 2 is alsojoined to the ends of other horizontal beams 8, 9, 10 and 11 which,although not shown, extend to an additional` spaced upright framesimilar to frames 2 and 3. In this manner the entire pallet rack 1 canbe made any length required. Just as the beams `8, 9, 10 and 1-1 extendfrom the frame 2, other beams can extend in the opposite direction fromthe trame 3 4so that the pallet rack can be extended in length in eitherdirection.

Each of the upright frames 2. and 3 consists of a front upright 12 and arear upright 13 joined together by horizontal front to back members 1'4and 15 and diagonal braces 16 and 17. Naturally the lengths of themembers V14, 15, 16 and 17 can be appropriately cut to space theuprights 12 and 13 as far apart as necessary to provide the proper spanbetween the front beams 4 and 5 and the rear beams 6 and 7. Also, theuprights y12 and 13 can be made as tall as necessary in 'order toaccommodate the required vertical spacing of :the horizontal beams, aswell as to permit positioning of as many vertically spaced beams asdesired. Also, additional members similar to 14, 15, 16 and 17 can beadded to provide sucient rigidity and strength.

With the structure as shown in FIG. 1, the beams 5 and 6 provide a spanacross which pallets 'or other auticles can span so that the beams actas their support Yat an upper level. Similarly the beams 4 and '7provide a spanned support for pallets or other objects at a lowerlevel.' yA pallet l"18 is shown supported by the beams 4 and 7 and alsoa board 19. If continuous shelving is required so that objects will notfall through the spanned opening between the beams, a plurality ofVboards 19 can be positioned Vside by side along the beams to provide acontinuous Vuninterrupted support for various shapes and sizes ofobjects. The fron/t to back members 14 and 1-5 and diagonal braces 16and 17 are preferably welded at their ends to the uprights 12 and 13 inorder to provide the completed ladder-shaped upright frames 2 and 3.This enables the frames 2 and 3 to be shipped as integral units, thussaving erection time and also insuring a rigid structure which might notbe obtained if nuts and bolts or other fastening means are used toV4secure these members together.

Each of the uprights 12 and 13 are provided with two rows of openings 26extending along the entire length of the side Walls 21 and 22 of ltheuprights. The openings 20 are equally spaced from each other by a xedincrement. These side wal-ls 21 and 22 are positioned parallel to eachother and are connected therebetween by front Walls 23 which form theuprights into channel shapes. The side walls 21 and 22 are provided withilanges 24 and 25 which extend toward each other in a plane parallel toeach front wall 21 of an upright. The flanges 24 and 25, the side walls21 and 22 and the front wall 23 on each upright together provide aflanged channel shaped upright with four corners 26, 27, 23 and 29 whichimpart column strength and rigidity to the upright.

Even though different number designations have been given to thehorizontal beams, -they are all identical in structure and can be usedinterchangeably as front or back beams by merely rotating them 180degrees end to end in a horizontal plane.

As shown in the drawings, a horizontal beam 6 consists of a rectangularshaped tube 31 composed of two channels 32 and 33 facing each other withtheir iianges 32a, 32b and 33a, 3311, respectively, overlapping eachother to form the closed tube (FIG. 3). The overlapping anges 32a, 3215,33a and 3311 are preferably welded together to maintain the channels 32and 33 joined together and to impart strength to the assembled itube.Secured to the outside wall of the channel 33 is an L- shaped flanges 34which is welded thereto and which acts as the support means for shelfmaterial such as boards like board 19 shown in FlG. l. When the beamsare positioned, a flange 34 on one beam is positioned directly oppositea flange 34 on another beam so that opposite ends of the boards 19 orother similar parts can be suitably supported.

Within each end of the tube portion 31 of the beams, is a U-shapedsleeve 35 which is provided with an inside wall 35a connected betweentwo side walls 35h and 35e to form the U-.shape of the member 35. Thefree ends of the side walls 35b and 35e are provided with hooks 36 and37 which are spaced vertically from each other in the normal position ofthe beam on its upright. These hooks 36 and 37 have their shapesimparted to them by means of open slot-s 36a and 37a extending inwardlyfrom their lower portions. Each U-shaped sleeve 35 is provided with aU-shaped pin 38 which has a middle arm 39 connected between two sidearms 40 and 41 to impart the U-shape to it. The arms 4l) and 41 of thispin 38 project through canted slots 42 in the sleeve 35. There are fourof these slots 42 in each of the sleeves 315, there being :two in eachof the side walls` 35h and 35a` and each of the two in a side wall arespaced vertically from each other while a slot in one side wall ispositioned directly opposite a slot in the opposite side wall.

The spacing of the side walls 35b and 35C in each of the sleeves 35 is alittle less than the spacing of the walls of the channels 32 and 33which make up the tube 31 so that these side walls 3517 and 35C arepositioned close to the walls of the channels 32 and 33 when the sleeve35 is telescoped within the tube 31. Each U- shaped pin 38 also has itspor-tions 40 and 41 passed through four longitudinally extending slots43 which are in the walls of the channel members 32 and 33, two in eachmember. Two washers 44 are tted over the arms 40 and 41 of the pin 38and are secured in place by welding or other fastening means in thepositions shown best in FIGS. 3 and 5 for the purpose of retaining 'thepin 38 in place within the tube 31 and the sleeve 35.

With the sleeve 35 and the pin 38 assembled as described and shown inthe drawings, the arms 40 and 41 are free to travel along thelongitudinal slots 43 in the tube 31 and along the slots 42 of thesleeve 3S. The movement `of the pin portions along the slots 43 allowsthe sleeve 35 to be extended or retracted out of and into the tube 31 sothat its hooks 36 and 37 either extend beyond the end 31a of the tube 31or are withdrawn entirely into the tube 31. The movement of the pin in-the slots 42 in reality occurs as movement of the sleeve 35 in anangular direction relative to the pin 38 at an angle determined by thecant or slope of the slots 42.

In order to assemble a horizontal beam 6 to an upright 12 or 13, thebeam is extended horizontally with each of its ends positioned adjacentto two oppositely positioned upright members 12 or 13. The beam istemporarily supported at a level where the hooks 36 and 37 of `thesleeves 35 on each end of the beam are in alignment with the respectiveopenings 20 in the side walls 21 and 22 of the upright members 12 and13. The spacing of these openings 20 vertically from each other is thesame as that of the hooks 36 and 37, although the `length of eachopening 20 is more than the width of each of the hooks 36 and 37 so thatthe hooks can be positioned through these openings 20 without anydiiculty.

With the beam positioned, as stated, with its ends between positioneduprights 12 or 13 and the hooks prop erly aligned with the openings 2G,the connecting portion 39 of the pin 33 lis manually gripped and thesleeve 35 on each end of the beam or tube is moved longitudinally of thebeam toward the end of the beam by movement of the pin longitudinally ofthe beam. By moving the pin 38 to the left as viewed in FIG. 2, thiscauses the sleeve 35 to move to the left and extend the hooks 36 and 37beyond the end 31a of the beam or tube 31 and through the openings 2t)in the upright member 13. The slots 43 limit the travel of the sleeve 35to the left as the pin arms 40 and 41 contact the left ends of the slots43 at which time the pin arms 40 and 41 are, in effect, stationaryprojections relative to the beam or tube 31. When these hooks 36 and 37are passed entirely through the openings 20, on both ends of the beam,support of the beam is removed so that it is allowed to drop downwardlyand this allows the recesses 36a and 37a to tit down over the bottomshoulders or lips 20a `of the openings 20. As the beam moves downwardlyof its own weight the pin arms 4i) and 41 are cammed against lthe sidewalls of the slots 42 to urge movement of the beam end 31a against theside Wall 21 of the upright 13 so that the end 31a of the beam restsfirmly against the side wall 21 of this upright 13. Even though theweight lof the beam is ordinarily enough to provide a high degree ofrigidity in' the connection between the beam and the upright, additionalweight on the beam by the loading of pallets onto the rack in its final`assembled form, creates la tighter drawing up of the beam against theupright as the pin arms 40 and 41 are wedged more tightly down theinclines of the slots 42. This is a self-energizing locking action whichis enhanced in' this manner upon additional loading of the pallet rack.

Upon disassembly of the pallet rack, a force is applied upwardly frombeneath the beam so that the pin -arms 40 and 41 are urged up theinclines of the slots 42 to allow the hooks 36 and 37 to project alittle more out from the end 31a of the beam. This releases the wedgedlocking condition and allows the beam to be raised further until thehooks 36 and 37 are clear of the shoulders 20a at the bottom of theopenings 20 so that they can be withdrawn from the openings 20 uponmanipulation of the pin 38 to the right, as viewed in FIG. 2.

From what has been shown yand 4described it should be apparent that lapallet rack structure has been provided having only two basic separatecomponents, viz., beams and iuprights. The beams are readily positionedbetween of? A fixed spaced uprights without interference of` connectinglugs when the sleeves 35 are retracted into the beams.

its assembly and disassemblyallows erect-ion andknockdown of the rackwith a minimum of labor and time.

Although only 4'a single embodiment of thevinvent-ion 4 has` been shownand described, it should be apparent that the invention can bemanufactured in still other ways without departing from the true scopevof the invention as dened by the appended claim-s.

I claim:y v 1. A support structure compri-sing vertical uprights andhorizontal beams, each upright beingprovided with a row of openings`extending along at `least one side wall lot the upright, thebeam having1a sleeve, telescoped pressure on the beam, said cam means being aslanted slot in the connector engaged by van arm on the beam.

3. Ay combination of a horizontal beam, an upright, and a connectiontherebetween, said combination comprising, lat least one hook, said hookbeing on connector means slidably mounted on the 'beam yfor movementltnom a Iposition concealed within the beam to an extended position withthe hook projecting longitudinally beyond the end 'of the beam, theupright having means for engaging the hook on the connector when it is1in its extended position to connect lthe connector to the upright, saidconnector having a slanted slot enga-ged by an arm on the beam, saidslanted slot being so directed that downward pressure on the beam causesthe arm to be guided in' the slanted slot to cause the end of the beamand the Connector. to be urged longitudinally tightly against theupright to provide a tight connection between the `beam and the upright.

4. A combination of a horizontal beam, an upright, and 'a connectiontherebetween, said combination comprising, connector means includinghooks, said connector Vmeans 'being sl-idably mounted on the beam formovewithin it and slidably mounted tor movement longitud-if nally of thebeam in tw'o directions by means of a pin engaging at least onelongitudinal slot in the beam, said sleeve being provided with a hook.which projects from the end of the beam when `the sleeve is moved inone direction and which` is ooncealedin the beam when the sleeve ismoved in the other direction, the projecting hoo-k extending through oneof said openings the upright when the end of the beam is abutting-theupright,l said hook engaging -a marginal lip of said one of saidopenings .upon downward displacement of the beam, said pin also engagingat least one angular positioned yslot in the sleeve `so that downwardmovement of the beam urges the pin along the angular positioned slot tou-rge the hook in a direction into the beam land the end .of the beamagainst -the side wall of the upright to tighten the connection betweenthe beam and the upright.

2. A combination of' a horizontal beam, an upright,

` and la connectiontherebetween, saidcombination comprising, at leastone hook, said hook being on connector means slidably mounted on thebeam for movement from a position concealed within the beamte anextended position with the hook projecting longitudinally beyond the endfof `the beam, the upright having means for engauging` lthe hook on theconnector when it is in its exment from la position concealed within thebeam to an extended position projecting longitudinally beyond the end oflthe beam, the upright having openings through which said hooks of theconnector means are passed for connecting the connector to the upright,said connector means having a first slot carried by an arm movable alongthe first slot, said arm also being engaged in a second slot'in the beamVextending longitudinally of the beam, -said second slot `allowing thearm to be moved longitudinally of the beam to move the connector meanslongitudinally of the befam between its'concealed and extendedpositions, said first slot being so directed and acting :as a camsunfaoe for the arm Ito urge the end of the beam and said hooks to beclamped tightly against the upright in opposite directions to provide yatight contended position to connect the connector to the upright, f

against the `opposite side of the upright upon downward nection between'the beam and lthe upright upon downward pressure on ythe beam. Y

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,080,639 Kurtzon Dec.'9, 1913 2,056,544 Vanderveld Oct. 6, 19362,060,760 Keil Nov. 10, 1936 2,169,138 Causey Aug. 8, 1939 2,539,933Silverman Jan. 30, 1951 2,582,035 Hill Jan. 8, 1952 2,815,130 FranksDec. 3, 1957 2,932,368 Schell Apr. 12, `1960 2,932,409 Wineman Apr. 12,1960

3. A COMBINATION OF A HORIZONTAL BEAM, AN UPRIGHT, AND A CONNECTIONTHEREBETWEEN, SAID COMBINATION COMPRISING, AT LEAST ONE HOOK, SAID HOOKBEING ON CONNECTOR MEANS SLIDABLY MOUNTED ON THE BEAM FOR MOVEMENT FROMA POSITION CONCEALED WITHIN THE BEAM TO AN EXTENDED POSITION WITH THEHOOK PROJECTING LONGITUDINALLY BEYOND THE END OF THE BEAM, THE UPRIGHTHAVING MEANS FOR ENGAGING THE HOOK ON THE CONNECTOR WHEN IT IS IN ITSEXTENDED POSITION TO CONNECT THE CONNECTOR TO THE UPRIGHT, SAIDCONNECTOR HAVING A SLANTED SLOT ENGAGED BY AN ARM ON THE BEAM, SAIDSLANTED SLOT BEING SO DIRECTED THAT DOWNWARD PRESSURE ON THE BEAM CAUSESTHE ARM TO BE GUIDED IN THE SLANTED SLOT TO CAUSE THE END OF THE BEAMAND THE CONNECTOR TO BE URGED LONGITUDINALY TIGHTLY AGAINST THE UPRIGHTTO PROVIDE A TIGHT CONNECTION BETWEEN THE BEAM AND THE UPRIGHT.